WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Appleton Partners Inc. MA

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $522,000. Optas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $329,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. Clean Yield Group boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $42,527,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WEC. Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $104.05 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $106.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.97.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.45%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.